Alone in the Dark

OK, I'm about to go on a long tangent about (you guessed it) Alone in the Dark. And no, this thread has nothing to do with a shitty movie director called Uwe Boll.

Anyway, I got into the Alone in the Dark series in 2001 because of my liking for the Resident Evil series. I've played quite a lot of games that are similar to Resident Evil and I decided to buy Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, as it was suppost to be a revival of the original survival horror franchise.

Well, I loved it the first time I played it. The game has awesome lighting effects and it is good value for money. You get to play two characters with a different purpose, as they are forced to investigate a gruesome mystery on Shadow Island. The two main characters are Aline Cedrac and Edward Carnby. Light plays a vital part to the gameplay, as a flashlight can be used to scare away the Creatures of Darkness that haunt your every move.

The original trilogy was featured on the PC some 12 years ago. During the production of Alone in the Dark 2, Infogrames released a small game called Jack in the Dark, which featured the young child Grace Saunders dressed up as a witch. Her task was to save Santa Claus from a group of evil toys by using her puzzle solving skills.

Alone in the Dark 2 (which is arguably the worst of the original trilogy) was subsequently ported to the PlayStation, as either Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back or Alone in the Dark: One Eyed Jack's Revenge depending on the region. The object of the game is to rescue Grace Saunders from a gang of bootleggers, lead by the pirate One Eyed Jack.

Your mission leads you through a hedge maze, a huge mansion, and the finale takes place on a pirate ship. When Carnby gets caught in a voodoo spell, you then take control of Grace Saunders, as she attempts to evade capture and save Carnby from a rather unfortunate fate.

These games are superb. The first one was definitely the best. It really was a huge milestone in 3D adventure games, but my copy didn't have any sound. Perhaps they left out the sound to make it seem like you were watching a silent movie.

I'm really looking forward to Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation, which is heading to the PC and Xbox 360 next year. This game will mark the return of Edward Carnby, as he is involved in a new supernatural mystery. Can't wait, but it is going to be epic.